Aerial Survey in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

Gates of the Arctic is a wilderness park with no roads or trails in or out, so visitors must fly or hike into the park. This National Park is the second largest in the U.S. at 8,472,506 acres. Due to the inaccessibility to the park, the amount of people who visit annually is extremely low. In 2021 there was a measly 7,362 visitors. The low number of visitors means that the park remains in near pristine condition, providing a true sanctuary for wildlife.

While the park may not receive a lot of visitors, many scientists visit the park each year to conduct research. When I was in college, I had the privilege of being part of an aerial bear survey hosted by the National Park Service. The purpose of the survey is to monitor bear population, density, and composition. The survey was based out of the small village of Kotzebue, Alaska. For several weeks, we would wake up every morning and hop into small two-seater bush planes and fly over to the park to count bears. The park was split up into a grid of boxes. Within each box, we would fly low to the ground back and forth counting how many bears we saw each day. If we were able to, we would capture a picture of the bears with a small digital camera. We would also take pictures of the gorgeous scenery and other wildlife.

Flying back and forth for hours in a small plane in the middle of summer with no air conditioning creates less than ideal conditions for someone who gets motion sick. It’s me. I’m the one who gets motion sick. In fact, I got sick multiple times a day every time I attempted to fly. One of the days that I flew I puked over 9 times! After a while, one of my supervisors agreed that I could help with survey data entry in Kotzebue instead of being in the field. Although I didn’t have a stomach strong enough to fly every day, I was blown away by the sections of the park that I did see. It is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been, and it was an unforgettable experience. I am excited to share some of the pictures that we gathered over the course of the survey so that you can get a glimpse of the park as well.